The present invention relates to a biological information identification technique used for controlling entrance into and exit from important facilities and for controlling access to an information system. More particularly, the present invention relates to a fingerprint identification technique.
In the prior art, there is known an access control technique that permits only a specific user registered in advance to go into and out of the facilities, or to utilize an information system by employing biological information such as a fingerprint. This access control technique is exemplified, as follows:
(1) Client Authentication System: As disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid Open No. 09-198501 (as will be called the “Document 1”), an unauthorized entrance into an administered region is prevented by comparing the biological information of a user registered in advance in a door control device with biological information inputted at the time of in-going and out-going.
(2) Server Authentication Type Fingerprint Identification System: As disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid Open No. 10-124668 (as will be called the “Document 2”), the unauthorized access to a computer system is prevented by allowing a server to have a user biological information file so that the user biological information inputted by a client is checked by the server.
(3) Mobile Fingerprint Identification System: As disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid Open No. 10-149446 (as will be called the “Document 3”), the unauthorized access to the computer system is prevented by recording user biological information in a mobile recording device such as an IC card so that the biological information of the user newly inputted is checked by the client.
According to the method described in Document 1, in the case where a door control device is implemented as a device without tamper-resistance, a problem may arise that the fingerprint information and the identification result of the user can be counterfeited, tampered or pirated, allowing an unauthorized user to impersonate a correct user (i.e., the impersonation).
According to the method described in Document 2, the server centrally controls the biological information that is intrinsic to the user for the finger print identifications. Thus, the fingerprint information and the identification result are made difficult to counterfeit, tamper and pirate, unlike the method described in Document 1. However, there arise other problems, i.e., the user may be considerably reluctant to be centrally controlled with personal information such as a fingerprint, a large volume of biological information may be stolen all at once, and that cost for managing the files to record the biological information may be increased due to a large number of users control.
According to the method described in Document 3, the biological information is recorded in the mobile storage device such as the IC card having a tamper-resistance. Therefore, this method can solve the problems of user reluctance, stealing a large volume of biological information and high cost for managing the biological information, raised in the method described in Document 2. Since the fingerprint input device and the CPU packaged in the IC card performing putting and identifying the fingerprint, the fingerprint information and the comparing, result can be prevented from being counterfeited, tampered and pirated unlike the method described in Document 1, thereby providing a high level of safety. However, functions for inputting the biological information and for identifying the biological information have to be packaged in the IC card, thereby to raising a problem that the cost for the system is increased.